The Meridian Gate (午门/午門; Wǔmén) is the southern (and largest) gate of the Forbidden City. It has five arches. The three central arches are close together; the two flanking arches are farther apart from the three central arches. The center arch was formerly reserved for the Emperor alone; the exceptions were the Empress, who could enter it once on the day of her wedding, and the top three scholars of the triennial civil service examinations, who left the exams through the central arch. All other officials and servants had to use the four side arches.

Behind the Meridian Gate, one can see five bridges with a courtyard named the Golden Water River Bridges. The Golden Water River flows beneath the Golden Water River Bridges. The central bridge was used exclusively by the emperor. The two flanking it were for use by members of the royal family. The two outer bridges were for court officials. The bridges have marble balustrades richly carved with dragon and phoenix motifs.

With the ever present threat of fire damage to the palace buildings, the Golden Water River served as a water reservoir as well as being a decorative feature. The Golden Water River Bridges were supposed to represent the five Virtues preached by Confucius benevolence, righteousness, rites, intelligence and fidelity. They were shaped like five arrows reporting symbolically to Heaven, because the emperor considered himself the Son of Heaven.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿; Tài Hé Diàn) is the largest hall within the Forbidden City. It is located at its central axis, behind the Gate of Supreme Harmony. Built above three levels of marble stone base, and surrounded by bronze incense burners, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is one of the largest wooden structures within China. It was the location where Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty emperors hosted their enthronement and wedding ceremonies. The name of the Hall was changed from Feng Tian Dian (奉天殿) to the current one by Shun Zhi Emperor.

The Hall of Central Harmony (中和殿; Zhōng Hé Diàn) is one of the three halls of the Outer Court of the Forbidden City, in Beijing, China, along with the Hall of Supreme Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. It is smaller than the other two halls, and is square in shape. It is used by the Emperor to prepare and rest before and during ceremonies.

The Hall of Preserving Harmony ( 保和殿; Bǎo Hé Diàn) is one of the three halls of the Outer Court of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, along with the Hall of Supreme Harmony and Hall of Central Harmony. Rectangular in plan, the Hall of Preserving Harmony is similar to, but smaller in scale than, the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was used for rehearsing ceremonies, and was also the site of the final stage of the Imperial examination. Both of these halls also feature imperial thrones, though to a slightly smaller scale than that in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Gate of Heavenly Purity

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Palace of Heavenly Purity is the largest of the three halls of the Inner Court (the other two being the Hall of Union and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility), located at the northern end of the Forbidden City. During the Qing dynasty, the palace often served as the Emperor's audience hall, where he held council with the Grand Council.

Yang Xin Dian = Hall of Mental Cultivation

Yong Shou Gong = Palace of Eternal Longevity

Xian Fu Gong = Palace of Universal Happiness

Chang Chun Gong = Palace of Eternal Spring

Chu Xiu Gong = Palace of Gathering Elegance

Originally built in 1420, the Palace of Gathering Elegance is one of the Six Western Palaces in the inner court of the Forbidden City. It was where emperors’ wives lived in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Wu Ying Dian = Hall of Martial Valour

Located to the west of the Gate of Prosperous Harmony opposite the Hall of Literary Glory, Hall of Martial Valour was also built in the Ming Dynasty. It sits on a Xumi Base (the pedestal or base of a Buddhist tower, or temple) and is surrounded by rails of white marble. There is a platform in front of the door of the hall, and a gravel path leading to the Gate of Martial Valour. There is a back hall behind it named Hall for Respect and Thinking (Jingsidian). The two halls are connected through a corridor. There are also side halls and veranda rooms on the eastern and western sides of the hall. In the northwest of the courtyard of the hall is Yudetang which is where civil ministers edited, inscribed and decorated the books.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Hall of Martial Valour served as the emperor's study where he consulted with his ministers. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Hall of Martial Valor was turned into the office of Prince Regent Dorgon. Later, the hall was changed into the rest hall of the emperor. Some small-sized ceremonies of congratulation, reward and sacrifice were also held in this hall.

Wu Ying Men = Gate of Martial Valour

Xi He Men = Gate of Prosperous Harmony

You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

The Imperial Garden is rectangular and covers an area of 12,015 square meters (three acres). The buildings in it are centered on the Hall of Imperial Peace (Qinandian) and spread out to the east and west to include 20 pavilions, towers and terraces. The Hall of Imperial Peace, the main building in the garden, sits on a Xumi Base (the pedestal or base of a Buddhist tower, or temple) of white marble stone. The baluster columns and the racks around were carved with dragon and phoenix patterns. In the hall, Zhenwu Dadi, the supreme god of Taoism, was worshiped. The emperor would burn incense in front of the statue of the god to pray for the blessings during seasonal festivals, such as the Beginning of Spring, the Beginning of Summer, the Beginning of Autumn and the Beginning of Winter.

Major Pavilions

Buildings on the eastern part of the Hall of Imperial Peace include Hill of Accumulated Elegance (Duixiushan), Pavilion of Imperial View (Yujingting), Pavilion of Floating Greenery (Fubiting), Pavilion of Everlasting Spring (Wanchunting) and Pavilion of Crimson Snowflakes (Jiangxueting). To the west are Pavilion of Everlasting Sunshine (Yanhuige), Weiyu Study, Pavilion of Deposited Jade (Chengruiting), Pavilion of One Thousand Autumns (Qianqiuting) and Study of Mental Cultivation (Yangxingzhai). Of them, the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring, Pavilion of Floating Greenery, Pavilion of One Thousand Autumns and Pavilion of Deposited Jade were carefully built, symbolizing the four seasons of a year.

Originally Posted by Anh Nam

Thanks foxs
In 24 hours you got 279 views. You are very popular.

A lot of it is my fault. My browser keep on freezing so I have to repeatedly hit F5.

You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

Chapter 42 - Part 5

Pannonian, you have not replied to my question. I want to include that in the note. I entered 'circle' in the dictionary, there is no entry with 'xuan', there are 'tuan' and 'yuan'. Ace, I made correction in my source file, perhaps I'll fix my previous post later. Thanks. Anh, thanks for keeping track of the number of views for me. I chuckled when I read the next posts. Crazee, you may be closer to truth than you think. Out of 279 views, Ace accounts for half, you visited the thread multiple times, perhaps some others do the same, in the end we only have around ten members ... Just kidding, I know we have more than 10, there are at least 12 or 13 ... Sky, Zhx, you are welcome. Smurf, that kind of details is missing from the official translation, and I am sure it will be difficult to bring it to the screen.

After a long while, a faint crow of a single rooster broke the quietness of the night, followed by roosters all around responded. From the lattice of the window they could see the faint streaks of dawn. “It’s daybreak,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I must go to the Palace to ask around.”

Chen Jinnan said, “If the Gui Family, husband, wife and son, should meet misfortune and are defeated, you must find a way to save them. Wu Liuqi Dage’s affair was due to misunderstanding; we must not blame them indefinitely. We must attach most importance to virtuous cause and set aside personal matters. Their humiliation to us must not be taken too seriously.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Shifu’s instruction, disciple will hold in high regard. It’s just that … it’s just that if they have already killed the young Emperor, even if disciple stakes my little life, I won’t be able to help them out.” Thinking that most probably by this time the young Emperor had been assassinated by the Gui Family’s three people, he could not stop grief from rising in his heart. Immediately his tears flowed, with a sob he said, “Poor Wu Dage …” Seizing the opportunity, he broke into loud crying.

Mu Jiansheng said, “Regardless of whether the Gui Family husband and wife are successful or fail, today Beijing will be in chaos. Xiongdi has quite a bit of friends outside, I must hurry up and go out to warn them to disperse and hide; after this storm is passed, we’ll talk again.”

“Definitely,” Chen Jinnan said, “Quite a number of our humble Society brethren are also scattered throughout this city, everybody must go out separately to notify all Jianghu friends, we all must be a bit more careful, don’t invite any disaster. Tonight, early tenth hour [5-7 pm] we will meet here again to discuss what we are going to do next.” Everybody agreed.

Immediately four Tian Di Hui brothers were sent out first to go out and scout the situation; after they returned and reported that there was nothing unusual in that vicinity, they left the mansion in small groups.

Wei Xiaobao also went out the door, as it happened, Sun Sike returned, reporting that the memorial had been handed over to the Imperial Bodyguards at the Palace gate. When the Captain of the Imperial Bodyguards heard that it was the Fu Zongguan [Deputy Chief] Wei Daren’s secret memorial, he received it at once and dashed in to present it to the Emperor. The three of them waited outside the Palace gate. Until the fifth drum strike, the Captain had not come out. At this moment Wang Jinbao and Zhao Liangdong, two men, were still waiting outside the Palace gate for the news. Afraid that Wei Xiaobao might be concerned over them, Sun Sike went back to report to him.

“All right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “You may go to take care of Zhang Tidu.” Deeply worried and sick at heart, he ordered his personal guards to get the fake empress dowager Mao Dongzhu and put her in a small sedan chair and have her brought to the Palace to have an audience with the Emperor.

Arriving at the Palace gate, he saw all around was quiet, about a dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards at the gate rushed forward to pay their respect; they all giggled and said, “Fu Zongguan must be exhausted. That place, Yangzhou, is very fun.”

Wei Xiaobao was relieved. He thought, “If the Palace is in great confusion, they would not be in the mood to chat about Yangzhou with me.” He smiled and nodded his head. “These days,” he asked, “Is everybody all right?”

“Relying on Fu Zongguan’s good fortune, from top to bottom we are all safe and sound,” an Imperial Bodyguard replied, “Only that old fellow Wu Sangui is rebelling, making His Majesty very busy. In the dead of the night he often summons cabinet minister to the Palace to discuss official business.” Wei Xiaobao was even more relieved.

Another Imperial Bodyguard said with a laugh, “With Zongguan Daren back in the Capital, you can help His Majesty handling important matter, His Majesty would have a bit more time for leisure.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “You need not pat the horse’s butt. The stuff I brought back from Yangzhou, good Xiongdi all will have some share, nobody will be lacking.” The Imperial Bodyguards were greatly delighted; they all paid their respect and expressed their gratitude.

Pointing to the small sedan chair, Wei Xiaobao said, “That is the prisoner that the Empress Dowager and His Majesty personally wanted me to arrest. I want you to keep an eye on it.”

The attendants opened the sedan chair’s curtain to let the Imperial Bodyguards at the gate to search. The Imperial Bodyguards did their job by checking the sedan chair for any weapons or prohibited objects. They laughed and said, “Fu Zongguan Daren’s meritorious service this time is not small, we will be invited for a drink to congratulate your promotion.”

Wei Xiaobao entered the Palace. He inquired of the night guards of the Qian Qing Men, and was told that the Emperor was in conference with cabinet ministers at the Yang Xin Dian since the previous evening and had not withdrawn until now. Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. He thought, “Turns out His Majesty was busy all night long and did not sleep. High-level meeting with cabinet ministers, naturally the security all around will be very tight. There were hundreds or thousands lanterns outside Yang Xin Dian, how could those three Gui Family turtles get near the Emperor? If Xiao Xuanzhi went to bed early, the lantern dark the fire black, I am afraid he might already meet calamity by now. It can clearly be seen that as the Emperor, indeed his flood of good fortune fills the heavens. Fortunately when that old fellow Wu Sangui went to war, he triumphed over the enemy, so that the Emperor is worried and he talked about it all night long.”

Arriving outside the Yang Xin Dian, he quietly stood to wait. Although he was the Emperor’s most favorite person, when the Emperor was talking about military and national affairs with princes and dukes, and cabinet ministers, he would not dare to come in without permission.

After waiting for more than an hour, the night guards opened the door. He saw Prince Kang Jieshu, Ming Zhu, Songgotu, and the others came out one by one. When these high-rankings ministers saw Wei Xiaobao, they all smiled and cupped their fists in greeting, but nobody dared to say anything. The eunuch announced Wei Xiaobao’s arrival, Kangxi immediately summoned him for audience.

Wei Xiaobao kowtowed at the entrance of the Hall before standing up. Seeing Kangxi seated on the imperial throne and was in high spirits, Wei Xiaobao felt of burst of happiness. “Your Majesty,” he said, “Your servant sees you, I … I’m really happy.” He was worried all night long; seeing Kangxi was safe and sound, he could not stop tears from flowing down his face.

Kangxi laughed and said, “No wind no rain, why are you crying?”

“It is tears of joy,” Wei Xiaobao replied.

Seeing him revealing his real feeling, Kangxi laughed and said, “Very good, very good! That old fellow Wu Sangui really rises in rebellion. He attacked and snatched several victories; he thought I would be afraid to see him and would not dare to kill his son. Damn it, yesterday laozi chopped Wu Yingxiong’s head.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Kangxi replied, “All ministers advised me against killing Wu Yingxiong, they said something like if the kingdom and troops are at disadvantage, we can still have peace talks with Wu Sangui, allowing him not to remove border defense and station him in Yunnan forever. They also said that as soon as we kill Wu Yingxiong, Wu Sangui will not have any apprehension anymore, and will be even more vicious. Pei! Those cowards.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Your Majesty is brave and decisive. Your servant has watched the opera ‘Distinguished Gathering’, in which Zhou Yu and Lu Su told Sun Quan that as ministers they could surrender to Cao Cao, but the Lord and Master must not surrender. Today we are in similar situation, they, as princes, dukes and cabinet ministers are reaching out to Wu Sangui to have peace talks, Your Majesty must absolutely not have any peace talks.”

Kangxi was greatly delighted; he slapped the table and got off from his seat. “Xiao Guizi,” he said, “If you had arrived one day earlier, you could have explained that argument to the ministers, and then they would not dare to advise me to have peace talks. Humph, if they surrendered to Wu Sangui, they would still be ministers and generals, what advantage would they have?” He thought that although Wei Xiaobao was without learning or skills, he did not appear to be similar to those ministers who harbored selfish motives and only thought about their own selves.

Pulling Wei Xiaobao’s hand, Kangxi took him to a large table with a large map spread on it. Pointing to the map, Kangxi said, “I have sent people to lead the elite troops, to guard all the way from Jingzhou [prefecture, Hubei] to Changde [prefecture, Hunan], all the way from Wuchang [district, Hubei] to Yuezhou [not sure where]; I’ve appointed Shun Cheng Jun Wang [king/prince, not of royal blood] Lei’erjin as the Great General Ning Nan Jing Kou [pacify the south quieting the bandit/enemy] to lead all the generals in destroying the enemy. Just now I also appointed Ministry of Justice Shangshu [dept. head] Moluo as Jinglue[5] to be stationed and defend Xi’an. Even if Wu Sangui obtained Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, and attack Hunan, we won’t be afraid of him.”

“Your Majesty,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Please also send your servant to lead troops to deal with that old fellow Wu Sangui!”

Kangxi laughed; he shook his head and said, “Marching to war is not for entertainment. You’d better stay in the Palace to accompany me. Besides, this time the ones I am sending out are all Manchu generals Manchu troops; I am afraid they won’t have you rule over them.”

“Yes,” Wei Xiaobao said. In his heart he thought, “Wu Sangui wanted the Han people all over the world to rise against the Tatars. I am a fake Manchu man, naturally His Majesty does not trust me.”

Kangxi could read his mind, he said, “You are loyal and devoted to me, it’s not that I do not trust you. Xiao Guizi, Wu Sangui’s troops and horses are very formidable, not in three or five years, or even seven or eight years, will we be able to subdue him. A few years ahead of us we will definitely suffer defeat. This is going to be a hard battle, we will taste bitter first and sweet later, defeat first victory later. Do you prefer defeat, or do you prefer victory?”

Kangxi laughed and said, “You are loyal to me, I won’t let you suffer defeat. The defeat in the three to five years ahead of us is just to let others fight and fight. When we have tired out that rebel Wu until his spirit weary, his strength exhausted, the general situation has been decided, then I’ll send you out to Yunnan to personally catch this old fellow away. Do you know what will my imperial edict about this rebellion be?”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he said, “Your Majesty’s benevolence is indeed as high as the heavens and as thick as the earth.”

Kangxi laughed and said, “I will proclaim it to the world, I will promise that whoever catches Wu Sangui, Wu Sangui’s official rank will be granted to him. Xiao Guizi, this will depend on your good fortune. Damn it, with your revolting behavior, do you think you can act like the Ping Xi Wang? Ha ha, ha ha!” He cast a sidelong glance toward Wei Xiaobao for a moment before laughing and saying, “Nowadays you look like a little monkey, so you won’t look like him the least bit. But in six or seven years, you will be over twenty, at that time you will be granted the title ‘Wang’ [king], I am afraid you will be a bit off the chart. Ha ha …”

Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, “Ping Xi Qin Wang or whatever high-level title he has, I am afraid your servant will not have such good fortune to deserve it. But if Your Majesty would appoint me a great general, leading troops to Yunnan to catch Wu Sangui, the great general’s awe-inspiring authority resounds to eight direction, your servant will have a zhang-long eight-serpent spear in my hand as I shouted loudly, ‘Wu Sangui, come out to surrender your name!’ It would be extremely awesome. Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, Wu Sangui did not die early on, your servant will personally bring him over to kneel in here and kowtow to Your Majesty.”

Kangxi laughed. “Very good, very good!” he said. Instantly his face grew serious as he said, “Xiao Guizi, the first few years of war ahead of us will be very difficult. Defeat in battle is not a big deal, but even if we are defeated, we must not be in disarray. We need generals of great talent to endure defeat without being thrown in confusion, to be able to stand his ground. You are a good-luck general, not a brave general or famous general, and definitely not a great general. Ay, it’s a pity that the imperial court does not have any great generals.”

“But Your Majesty, you are a great general yourself,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Your Majesty already knew that in the few years ahead of us we will suffer defeat, yet even though defeated, definitely we will not be in disarray. Just like playing Pai Jiu [pai-gow], Your Majesty is the banker, you pay him seven or eight losses, you do not give it a damn. Our capital is abundant, a stone tablet is erected on Mount Tai to ward off evil spirit, we keep our composure, losing some money is just lending it to him. Later on, we will get the harmony pair [pair of ones and threes], man pair [all four], earth pair [all ones], heaven pair [all sixes], all the way to supreme pair [one, two, two, four]; pair by pair we beat him up, until we eat ‘em all, kill ‘em all, throwing that old fellow Wu Sangui’s men face up and their horses belly up, that he will be completely routed, completely empty-handed, his pocket inside out, his tiles [cards] are all turned up, each pair he has is a departing ten.”

Kangxi roared in laughter; he thought, “There is no great general in the imperial court, but I am a great general; he was right. These eight words ‘enduring defeat without being thrown in confusion, maintaining our composure’ [sui bai bu luan, chen de shu qi], aside from myself, no other commander-in-chief or high-ranking minister in the imperial court is able to achieve.” From the imperial table he picked up the secret memorial Wei Xiaobao presented to him. “You said some people are going to assassinate me, and you wanted me to be careful and be on guard?” he asked.

“Exactly,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “At that time the situation was urgent; your servant was under other people’s eyes, I could not summon the secretary to write it, without any other choice I drew this picture. Your Majesty is very intelligent, just one look and you understood. Those assassins looked on helplessly, and still did not understand its meaning. The Lord of Ten Thousand Years’ flood of good fortune fills the heavens, rebels and traitors trying to scheme against you in vain.”[5] Jing Lue - military position that was translated as the ‘managing governor’. [Faerie Queene, White Haired Demoness]

[I]Pannonian, you have not replied to my question. I want to include that in the note. I entered 'circle' in the dictionary, there is no entry with 'xuan', there are 'tuan' and 'yuan'.

Sory about that. I've asked about it, and the person who told me the detail was a Cantonese speaker, where the "Xuan" in Kang Xi's name is pronounced the same as "yuan" meaning circle. There was another pun in Divine Eagle Gallant Knight, right at the beginning when Yang Guo first meets Guo Jing, and tells him his name is Li Laozi. The pun is again present in Cantonese, where Li and Ni are pronounced the same in some dialects, but not in Putonghua. Jin Yong wrote in Hong Kong, where these puns would have been effective in the local dialect.

I'm loving the interactions between WXB and Kangxi. I've always wondered whether what's between them is only friendship or more than that, in the novel. Cuz in 98's and 08's version, it seems like they were a couple lol.

Chen Jinnan said, “If the Gui Family, husband, wife and son, should meet misfortune and are defeated, you must find a way to save them.”

CJN is telling WXB to try rescuing the assassins? Is he kidding? Let’s say the assassination succeeded (with is not likely), WXB naturally will lose whatever position and influence he had, simply because KX is dead. If the assassination failed, with the Guis captured, WXB cannot rescue them without getting anyone else getting suspicious. Last time it was because the Emperor’s secret order and WXB handily pushed the blame on the (fake) empress dowager that Wu Li Shen and the rest could be rescued.

Originally Posted by foxs

Kangxi laughed and said, “You are loyal to me, I won’t let you suffer defeat. The defeat in the three to five years ahead of us is just to let others fight and fight. When we have tired out that rebel Wu until his spirit weary, his strength exhausted, the general situation has been decided, then I’ll send you out to Yunnan to personally catch this old fellow away. Do you know what will my imperial edict about this rebellion be?”

Great judgement here by Kang Xi. KX knew WSG will not rise in revolts without proper planning. As such, rather than (foolishly) expecting a quick win (as most emperors do), KX opted for a war of attrition. By placing generals and troops to defend key positions, he is making sure his power bases secured even though there are some provinces fell into the WSG’s hands. Furthermore, WSG’s is invincible in Yunnan, due to natural protections of the mountainous range. However, when he attacked other provinces, naturally his troops will lose that advantage. His troops will also be spread thinner and thinner. He has to deal with the expanding supply lines.

Originally Posted by foxs

“But Your Majesty, you are a great general yourself,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Your Majesty already knew that in the few years ahead of us we will suffer defeat, yet even though defeated, definitely we will not be in disarray.”

What make it more impressive is KX just about nineteen years old (historically speaking).

You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

CJN is telling WXB to try rescuing the assassins? Is he kidding? Let’s say the assassination succeeded (with is not likely), WXB naturally will lose whatever position and influence he had, simply because KX is dead. If the assassination failed, with the Guis captured, WXB cannot rescue them without getting anyone else getting suspicious. Last time it was because the Emperor’s secret order and WXB handily pushed the blame on the (fake) empress dowager that Wu Li Shen and the rest could be rescued.

I always have found cjn to be quite selfish towards wxb. If it's not for the fact that he cured wxb's poison I'd certainly not like cjn. He's using wxb more, yet wxb sees him as a father figure.

As for wxb losing his privileges, I doubt that. A lot of people in the palace owes him favors, and they actually like him. Something which really showed towards the later half of the novel. Wxb might lose some power, but I think he will have some influence left.

I always have found cjn to be quite selfish towards wxb. If it's not for the fact that he cured wxb's poison I'd certainly not like cjn. He's using wxb more, yet wxb sees him as a father figure.

As for wxb losing his privileges, I doubt that. A lot of people in the palace owes him favors, and they actually like him. Something which really showed towards the later half of the novel. Wxb might lose some power, but I think he will have some influence left.

I also feel that CJN owes WXB more and has never properly taught him anything even morals. None of his "brilliant" strategies. He used him to settle Green tang's leader dispute, then to do his thing in the palace. However, CJN was that era's superstar.

WXB and KX friendship surpasses any other I can remember in the YU universe.

I also feel that CJN owes WXB more and has never properly taught him anything even morals. None of his "brilliant" strategies. He used him to settle Green tang's leader dispute, then to do his thing in the palace. However, CJN was that era's superstar.

WXB and KX friendship surpasses any other I can remember in the YU universe.

Too bad CJN is blinded by his loyalty to the Zheng family. Any leader with such strong loyalty is bound to fail as he is blinded and bounded by that....a real waste.

XB is loyal but he is more loyal to himself. That is his strength. Survival skill is at play and his loyalty is not blind.

Thanks Foxs....things are moving finally. Now the message to Kang Xi, I suspect is not as simple. I feel this will bode evil for XB. Imagine, to know someone is going to assassinate the emperor, all he did was to write a message. I will feel suspicious. I predict XB will have some though questions to answer....

As for wxb losing his privileges, I doubt that. A lot of people in the palace owes him favors, and they actually like him. Something which really showed towards the later half of the novel. Wxb might lose some power, but I think he will have some influence left.

We must take into consideration of the norms. Historically, whenever the emperor changes, there will be some sort of purge of ministers and officials, especially the favourite minister of the late emperor.

Scenario #1. KX get killed by the Guis (although very unlikely); WXB will definitely lost his power and influence when a new emperor enthroned.

Scenario #2. The Guis failed and got captured; KX will surely investigate the matter thoroughly and therefore WXB can’t rescue them without exposing his identity as a high ranking member of the rebellion.

Originally Posted by athlonkmf

I always have found cjn to be quite selfish towards wxb. If it's not for the fact that he cured wxb's poison I'd certainly not like cjn. He's using wxb more, yet wxb sees him as a father figure.

Originally Posted by smurf120

I also feel that CJN owes WXB more and has never properly taught him anything even morals. None of his "brilliant" strategies. He used him to settle Green tang's leader dispute, then to do his thing in the palace. However, CJN was that era's superstar.

Up until now, we have yet to see any of CJN’s much hyped tactics and stratagems. CJN always running back to Taiwan whenever there is some important event about to happen and only shows up after the event has been successfully accomplished by WXB.

As a military advisor nicknamed Taiwan’s Zhuge Liang, CJN should have foreseen the problems and dangers of having troops that refused to obey orders and running wild on their own, or in this case, the Guis. They ‘might’ won them a battle, but they will surely lost them the war because they disturbed the overall battle plan. He should remove them as quickly as possible, even kill them if he has to, rather than risking them jeopardising the overall battle plan. This is war, not the time and place to show your high moral integrity and gentleman manners.

And this is the first time I read about a council of war that anybody could attend, be they are high ranking or low ranking or even those who have no rank at all. It just like privates attended a tactical meeting with the generals.

You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree